IMPD continues cracking down on suspected drug houses following violent week in SW district

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Indianapolis police continue cracking down on suspected drug houses following a violent week in the Southwest district.

On Friday officers raided one home on North Rochester serving a narcotics search warrant.

Police didn’t want to get too specific about the drug bust, but they did say it’s just one small example of a new crime fighting strategy being used all over the city.

Loaded into the back of a sheriff’s van in handcuffs, 4 men and 1 woman are now facing possible drug charges after officers with the Southwest district Flex team joined narcotics officers and seized drugs from inside the home.

“Our Flex team has made a dent in crime in our district and that’s our goal is to make a big dent,” said IMPD Sgt. Jim Fiscus.

Sgt. Fiscus oversees one of the IMPD’s newest crime fighting tools called Flex teams. Those include officers dedicated specifically to cracking down on known problem spots.

“Our goal is to combat crime by being proactive and talking to people about the problems in their district and in their area,” said Fiscus.

The drug busts are important because police say drugs are the root cause of a lot of shootings and other violent crimes, but it’s not the only job the new Flex teams have.

The last week has been deadly in and around the Southwest district.

On Thursday, police found a man shot to death in a back yard of a home on Sharon Avenue. Hours earlier and just a few blocks away, another man was found shot and killed inside a car on West 18th street.

Exactly one week ago, someone murdered a gas station clerk shooting her in the head during an attempted robbery.

In each case, Flex team officers saturated those areas to try and help solve the crimes.

“We try to be the eyes and ears of the street for those detectives,” said Fiscus.

Of course the Southwest district isn’t alone, Flex teams have been installed on all sides of town.

Those officers say drug dealers and users, as well as all other violent criminals, should consider themselves warned.

“The message we want to send is if you’re out here doing bad, you don’t know when we’re going to be here. We are anytime, day or night,” said Fiscus.

The raid on Rochester isn’t connected to the recent murders, but police say it does show how the city is committed to fighting crime despite the increase in homicides the city has seen this year.